Tag Archives: Sports

The Where, The When, The Ebb, The Flow of the Game of Field Hockey in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada

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Richmond Heritage Trivia Card produced by the Richmond Heritage Commission. This card was distributed to people at the 2025 Family Day event celebrating Heritage Week and features
the 1946 Richmond High School Grass/Field Hockey team.

The motivation to try and uncover the Where, the When, the Ebb, the Flow of the development of this wonderful, lifetime sport, field hockey, rose to the fore from the deep gratitude I have for being able to be so involved for most of my life. I have had an amazing playing career, a wonderful teaching career, a lifetime joy of reading widely, lots of personal support and an opportunity to give back over the past half-century as a player, coach, umpire, administrator, builder and now a writer involved with the development of field hockey for men, women, boys, girls living in Richmond, B.C. Now, I am a Member and Director of the Friends of The Richmond Archives. The records consulted at the City of Richmond Archives to research and write this article included: school annuals/yearbooks, school newsletters, oral history recordings, newspapers, my personal Memoir and papers and papers related to the development of the Richmond Field Hockey Club.

As I try and reveal the beginnings of grass/field hockey in Richmond I am going to refer to the game as either ‘grass hockey’ or ‘field hockey’. Early references also describe the game as ‘ground hockey’. We live in Canada, where the word ‘hockey’ is associated immediately with ‘ice hockey,’ but for purposes here the wording will be grass hockey or field hockey.

This article will cover how field hockey grew from Richmond High School’s inter-school sport program and how it developed overtime, among many factors, in response to war, changes within the school system, formation of the Richmond Field Hockey Club and COVID-19.

The article is not a thorough history but it has been an eyeopener for me. My hope is, it helps our community realize that the game of Field Hockey has been a positive part of Richmond’s School and Community life for a long time and it is in an Ebb awaiting a re-start, a Flow of SOMETHING GOOD.

Thank you,

Lance Carey

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Focus on the Record – Records of Early Parks and Recreational Facilities

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The establishment of a Recreation Commission in 1954 and the subsequent incorporation of parks and recreation services into the administrative structure of municipal government under the direction of the Parks and Recreation Commission resulted in the rapid growth of recreational land, facilities, and services in Richmond.

Little League Tournament at Brighouse Park, 1961.

Little League Tournament at Brighouse Park, 1961. City of Richmond Archives Photograph 1978 33 28

Prior to the establishment of the Commission, just over 20 acres of land in the municipality was parkland, much of which was maintained by local community associations and groups.  The Parks and Recreation Commission was initially established composed of elected members of both Council and School Board, which allowed for the coordinated development of school playing fields and municipal parks, simplified the planning of their locations, and reduced duplication of services.

Deed of Land. Purchase of part of present-day Minoru Park, 1958. City of Richmond Archives MR 66, File 1540

Deed of Land. Purchase of part of present-day Minoru Park, 1958. City of Richmond Archives MR 66, File 1540

In 1958, major plans and projects came to fruition under the direction of the Commission, the most significant being the purchase of land from BC Turf and Country Club, the owners of the Brighouse Park Race Track.  That land, first known as Centennial Park, is the southern part of what is now Minoru Park.  By 1959, Centennial Pool, Richmond’s first swimming pool, had been opened on the site.

Swim meet at Centennial Pool, 1963. City of Richmond Archives Photograph 1985 77 26

Swim meet at Centennial Pool, 1963. City of Richmond Archives Photograph 1985 77 26

Development there continued through the 1960s with the installation of a track, the building of a pavilion, arena, arts centre and library.

Opening of Minoru Sports Pavilion, 1964. City of Richmond Archives Photograph 1978 32 40

Opening of Minoru Sports Pavilion, 1964. City of Richmond Archives Photograph 1978 32 40

In 1970, the municipality acquired 217 acres for the Richmond Nature Park as the first of many new parks and community centre projects in that decade.

Aerial view of Richmond Nature Park, 1977. City of Richmond Archives Photograph 1978 41 5

Aerial view of Richmond Nature Park, 1977. City of Richmond Archives Photograph 1978 41 5

The City of Richmond Archives holds records documenting the growth of recreational opportunities in Richmond, including minutes of the Parks and Recreation Commission, bylaws and bylaw files relating to park acquisition and the building and maintenance of facilities, administrative and operational records of the early Recreation Department and the later Leisure Services Department, records of the Richmond School Board, and records of community associations and cultural and sports groups affiliated with the Commission.

[Note – this is an updated version of an article first published in the Spring 2014 issue of the Archives News]